• Buhle Ngcwabe started Ngcwabe Touch with his sister in 2025 and hopes to expand the food business to create jobs for unemployed youth.
• The Port St Johns chef sells affordable meals from R50 while working at a local accommodation establishment to support his growing business.

Buhle Ngcwabe learnt to cook by watching his mother in the kitchen. Now the Port St Johns chef wants to turn his passion for food into jobs for unemployed young people.

Buhle, from the Eastern Cape, started Ngcwabe Touch with his sister in 2025.

He has never attended a cooking school but has taught himself the skills needed to prepare meals that keep customers coming back.

“The passion for cooking developed by watching my mother prepare meals at an early age, and being involved in the kitchen made me realise that cooking was something I genuinely enjoyed,” said Buhle.

He works as a chef at an accommodation establishment in Port St Johns while running his own business.

“I didn’t go to school or receive formal training as a chef. Most of what I know today has come from my mother, practical experience, working in the kitchen, learning from others and continuously improving myself,” he said.

His business mainly operates on Saturdays, selling kotas for R50 and R60.

Customers can also buy beef stew served with roasted fried rice, creamed spinach and roasted butternut for R70.

During the week, Buhle prepares different meals for 10 customers from Monday to Friday.

He cooks before leaving for work while a friend helps with deliveries.

Running a business while holding down a job is not easy.

“One of the biggest challenges I face is balancing the business and my other responsibilities. Since I mainly operate on Saturdays, I have to make sure I use time effectively and prepare everything properly,” said Buhle.

The business is still small, and he has not employed anyone yet.

For now, his friends help whenever he needs extra hands.

“For now, I get help from my friends whenever I need an extra hand, and I am very grateful for their support because starting a business isn’t something you can always do alone.”

His friend Layola Fica helps without asking for payment because he believes Buhle will succeed.

“We grew up together, and assisting him for free does not bother me. All I want is to see him succeed, and I know that he will succeed and create job opportunities for other people,” said Layola.

Customer Angezwa Madaza started by buying kotas on Saturdays but now buys meals from Buhle every day.

“After tasting his meals, I decided to become a customer, and I use him every day, buying different meals that he prepares. That’s one of the things I like about him: he changes his meals. His food is delicious,” said Angezwa.

For Buhle, Ngcwabe Touch represents his journey from learning in his mother’s kitchen to cooking professionally and serving his community.

He hopes to grow the business and give other young people a chance to work.

Scrolla.Africa contacted the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency on 15 October 2026 to find out who qualifies for business funding and what documents applicants need.

Despite several attempts, the agency did not respond until Friday, 23 October, after Scrolla.Africa informed it that the story would be published without its comment.

The agency said food and catering businesses could qualify for funding through the Township and Rural Enterprise Programme.

The programme supports businesses in townships and rural areas. Businesses in certain priority areas, including rural towns, may also qualify if the committee approves.

The agency said developmental finance funding ranges from R50,000 to R15-million, depending on the type of support.

The Township and Rural Enterprise Programme currently offers up to R1-million. The agency is reviewing the programme, with the maximum expected to rise above R3-million.

Young business owners can also seek support through the Peo Pele Youth Fund.

The agency said the Youth Challenge Fund is being phased out, with existing applications being finalised.

Applicants must provide documents including proof of residence, a curriculum vitae, certified identity documents, bank statements and details of personal assets and debts.

They may also need a marriage certificate, business registration papers, compliance documents and business operating records.

The agency encouraged business owners to visit its website for the full requirements and application deadlines.

Buhle hopes his hard work will eventually allow him to employ young people from his community.

• ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says high fuel prices come from US President Donald Trump’s fight with Iran, and that R10-billion in relief is not for the elections.

• Ward 2 candidate Siphiwe Bulose says he has met churches and traditional leaders, and the South African Communist Party in KwaZulu-Natal says it backs the ANC for the 4 November elections.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has blamed US President Donald Trump for the high cost of living felt by rural communities.

Mbalula spoke to residents of ward 2 in kwaNyuswa, west of Durban, on Friday. He said people in rural areas are struggling because Trump picked a fight with Iran, which then shut the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up fuel prices in South Africa and around the world.

Oil prices rose after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Iran has since limited shipping through the strait, which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil.

Mbalula said Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has set aside R10-billion to ease fuel costs. He said the minister is not doing this for the elections, and “that’s what you need to know”.

The relief cuts the fuel levy by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 a litre on diesel from 4 November.

Mbalula also backed ward 2 candidate Siphiwe Bulose. He said the ANC is happy that Bulose was chosen through a smooth process in the eThekwini region. He said it was the first time the ANC in eThekwini picked candidates peacefully, without killings.

He said he was also surprised that there was no protest against him and the regional leaders at the party’s eThekwini gathering, as there were at past election gatherings.

Bulose told the gathering that he was humbled when residents asked him to stand. He said he has met churches, traditional leaders and sports groups to hear what they want. He said he has told them what he plans to do for the ward on infrastructure and the economy if he wins.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in KwaZulu-Natal also backed the ANC and Bulose. Provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said the party is fully behind the ANC, although some SACP leaders are campaigning for the SACP against it.

Local government elections are on 4 November.

• Since early August, Khayelitsha commuters going to Somerset West have been dropped at Makhaza and pay for a second taxi, and say they are cutting back on food and airtime.

• The CODETA taxi association says it is sorry, the government is trying to settle its dispute with CATA over the route, and it expects CATA to take passengers all the way to their destinations.

Khayelitsha commuters who travel to Somerset West say they are paying much more for taxis since a dispute between two taxi associations changed their route.

Since early August, taxis have dropped passengers at Makhaza instead of at their destinations. They then have to pay for a second taxi.

Nolungisa Gobongo, 46, said she pays R17 from Site C to Makhaza, then R25 from Makhaza to Somerset West. On the way home it is R25 back to Makhaza and R17 to get home. That is R42 each way, or R84 a day.

She said the change came as a shock, and most passengers do not earn much.

Gobongo said she knows about the dispute over the Somerset West route. But she said CODETA, the association she travels with, should have warned its passengers and not surprised them. She said it has told them nothing.

She said the food she buys no longer lasts a month, so she has to borrow money. Before the change, it did.

Sinazo Sawutana, 37, said R87 a day for two taxis to Somerset West is too much. She said salaries do not cover costs, and passengers should not be dragged into the associations’ problems. She hopes a solution is found soon.

Sawutana now struggles to put money aside for airtime and data. The money she used to set aside goes on transport, so she only talks to her siblings on social media, using the WiFi at work.

She said CODETA is their association and it must fix the problem.

CODETA chairperson Nceba Enge said the government is trying to settle the dispute with CATA over the Somerset West route.

He said CATA taxis pick up passengers in Somerset West and drop them at Makhaza, where CODETA taxis take them to their destinations. “We are sorry for the inconvenience,” he said, adding that the association knows it is hurting passengers financially.

Enge said CODETA expects CATA to take passengers all the way to their destinations, so they do not pay so much.

Gobongo’s fares add up to R84 a day, while Sawutana said R87, so I kept each figure as they gave it.

• Fashion designers say the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts and Culture still owes them Dundee July prize money three months later.

• The department says sponsor Ithala transferred the money to it, and payments to winners are under way.

Fashion designers who won prizes at the Dundee July say the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts and Culture still has not paid them, three months later.

They told Scrolla.Africa this week they are also under pressure from modelling agencies, because the models who showed their designs at the event have not been paid either.

Designer Mthunzi Mthembu said the worst part is that after three months of asking, nobody at the department is willing to help.

He said the designers were told a few weeks ago that the sponsor, Ithala, had paid the outstanding amount so they could be paid. Since then, he said, they have heard nothing. A department official kept them updated at first but has stopped answering their calls.

Mthembu said he has a job in Seychelles and must leave South Africa on 22 November, but he has no money because he has not been paid since July.

He said the same thing happened in 2024, and some designers and models stopped taking part in the Dundee July because of it.

Sandile Mbonani of the department told Scrolla.Africa the delay was caused by “unforeseen circumstances”, but the process to pay all the Dundee July winners is under way.

He said the department knows about the problem and is in constant contact with the designers and models who have not been paid.

Mbonani said Ithala was managing the payments as the sponsor, but told the department it could not pay individuals. It then agreed to transfer the money to the department to pay those still waiting.

He said winners who were paid directly by the department received their money before 15 August.

• A Khayelitsha mother says KwaMfundo Secondary School has held back her Grade 11 son’s report since March over R500. The school says it does not do this.

• The Western Cape Education Department says no school may hold back a report over unpaid fees. Parents who cannot pay can apply for a fee exemption or contact their district office.

A Khayelitsha mother says KwaMfundo Secondary School has not given her Grade 11 son his report since March because she owes R500.

The school says this is not true, and the Western Cape Education Department says no school may hold back a report over unpaid fees.

Sandisiwe Notyeka, a mother of two, said she has not received her son’s report since March 2026. She is unemployed and lives off piece jobs, and spends what she earns on food.

She said she does not know which subjects he is struggling with. “We are in the dark,” she said, and she wants the department to step in. She said many parents at the school are single parents doing all they can to keep their children in school.

Notyeka said she is sad that her son is the one suffering because she could not pay. She wishes principals would be more patient. She said she will work hard to find the money, but her first priority is food and school uniforms for her children.

Busisiwe Luganga, 40, said KwaMfundo is a no-fee school, but it calls fundraising money school fees and does not release reports. She said most parents depend on grants, and asked where she is supposed to find R500.

Yanga Mjingwana, chairperson of the school governing body, said it is not true that the school holds back reports. He said Notyeka has made an arrangement with the class teacher or the principal and will be helped. He said all parents who still owe money have received their children’s reports.

Mjingwana advised her to visit the school to make arrangements and collect her son’s report. He said the school has understood parents who came to explain they cannot pay. A parent who is not working must tell the school, he said.

Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said schools cannot withhold a report over unpaid fees. She said KwaMfundo is a no-fee school, and fees only apply at fee-paying schools.

She said parents who struggle to pay should speak to their school so a reasonable payment plan can be worked out. Parents who cannot pay can apply for a fee exemption, and if a report is being held back, they can contact their district office, she said.

• Prices are 4.5% higher than a year ago, says Statistics South Africa. Maize meal is 8.6% cheaper and fruit and nuts 4.8% cheaper, but transport costs are up 10.8%.

• Economist Johann Els expects inflation to go above 5% in October and November, and the fuel levy cut from 4 November will cover only about a quarter of the petrol price rise since January.

Maize meal and fruit cost less than they did a year ago, but getting around is much more expensive.

Prices in September were 4.5% higher than a year ago, according to Statistics South Africa. That is up from 4.4% in August and 4.3% in July. In simple terms, something that cost R100 a year ago now costs about R104.50.

Food is where the good news is. Food prices are only 1.2% higher than a year ago, and they fell by 0.1% from August.

Maize meal is 8.6% cheaper than a year ago, although it went up 0.8% in the past month. Cereal products overall are 1.9% cheaper, the eighth month in a row that their prices have fallen. Fruit and nuts are 4.8% cheaper.

Meat is still going up in price, but slowly. Prices are up 0.7% on a year ago, the slowest pace in 18 months.

Not everything is cheaper. Fish and seafood cost 8% more than a year ago. The rise is 9.1% in the Western Cape, 7.6% in Gauteng and 7.4% in Limpopo. Vegetables cost 3.5% more than a year ago, but their price fell 1.6% in September.

Transport is the biggest problem. Costs are 10.8% higher than a year ago, and this added more to inflation than anything else. IOL reported that petrol has gone up by R6.13 a litre since January, and diesel by R10.66. For a 50-litre tank of petrol, that is about R306 more.

PSG economist Johann Els told IOL that taxi and public transport costs have also gone up, but there is little sign yet of price rises spreading to other things.

Rent is rising more slowly. It went up 3.9% in the third quarter, down from 4.1% in the second. Flats rose by 4%, townhouses by 3.9% and houses by 3.8%. On a rent of R3,000, a rise of 3.9% is about R117 more a month.

Els expects inflation to go slightly above 5% in October and November, then start to fall from around April next year. He said a lot depends on whether oil prices drop next year.

Some help is coming at the pump. From 4 November, the fuel levy will be cut by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 a litre on diesel. That covers about a quarter of the rise since January. The cut shrinks after 1 December and ends on 5 January 2027.

For households, that means maize meal and fruit are where your money goes further, while fish and travel are where it goes less far.

• Hawkers in Tzaneen without trading papers say the municipality takes their stock until they pay a fine, and they want the next council to listen to them after the 4 November elections.

• ActionSA says it will fight for hawkers and has found municipal land for flea markets, while the municipality says there are more than 200 hawkers in the town centre but fewer than 100 are legal.

Hawkers in Tzaneen want the next council to stop taking their stock, and one party says it will fight for them.

Thandi Mohale, a mother of three who sells fruit and vegetables, said the municipality took her stock because she has no trading papers. She keeps going back to the same spot because it is her only income, and if she does not sell, her family goes hungry.

Mohale said she expects the next council and mayor to take hawkers seriously after 4 November. She said there are not enough jobs, and the municipality cannot take away her business when she is only trying to feed her family.

Peter Mhlongo, a father of four, sells phone screen protectors, chargers and pouches. He said he hopes the new council will stand up for hawkers instead of fighting people who make an honest living. He said hawkers steal from no one but are treated like criminals.

The Greater Tzaneen Municipality said it has fewer than 100 legal hawkers, running businesses such as hair salons, fruit and vegetable stalls and phone screen repairs. But spokesperson Vutivi Makhubele said more than 200 hawkers sell in the town centre, making it crowded and dirty.

She said the municipality and law enforcement officers repeatedly remove hawkers and take their stock until they pay a fine.

ActionSA mayoral candidate Dr Mikia Ramothwala, a former ANC member, said his party will fight for hawkers who are removed from their trading spots. He said ActionSA has found municipal land in the town centre between Boxer and NTK where hawkers can run flea markets and trade freely.

Ramothwala said the party wants to help mothers and fathers earn an income and add to the local economy, like the flea markets in Cape Town and other municipalities.

Two months ago, ActionSA and the EFF protested at the municipality and demanded that hawkers be allowed to keep selling. Hawkers are now back on the streets, but it is not clear if officers will remove them again after the elections.

ActionSA, the EFF, the DA and Mayibuye iAfrica are campaigning door to door in the municipality. Parties have promised jobs for young people, no cadre employment in the municipality and opportunities for people over 35. They have also promised that poor households will not pay for electricity.

• Regina Mundi church in Soweto is closed for safety after a storm damaged its roof on Monday, 19 October, and members are looking for another place to worship.

• The church’s insurance will pay for repairs, but tourist guides fear their pay will drop because fewer tourists are visiting.

Regina Mundi church, one of Soweto’s historic churches, has been closed after a storm damaged its roof. Members have nowhere to worship, and the church’s tourist guides say their work is already suffering.

The storm hit Soweto on Monday, 19 October. It damaged the church’s roof and part of its ceiling.

Parish secretary Naomi Rakgomo said repairs have started and the church’s insurance will pay for them. She said the church is looking for another place to hold services.

She said no one can go inside the church because it is not safe, but visitors can still enter the parts used for tourism. She said the church has had no help from the government.

The church is still running its soup kitchen every Thursday for vulnerable people. A group called Saint Vincent also gives out clothes and food parcels once a month.

Asanda Phungula, 24, from Dlamini in Soweto, works as both a tourist guide and a cleaner at the church. She said no tourists came on Tuesday, 20 October, and only two came on Wednesday, 21 October. The church usually gets five or more a day, she said.

Phungula said she is worried her pay will drop. She and the other guide are paid from the tourism account, and their salaries were cut last year when fewer tourists visited.

Zakhele Ntuli, a church member who lives in Rockville, said Regina Mundi means more than a church. He said it has played an important role in the lives of people in Soweto, offering spiritual support and help for those in need. “Everyone here is welcomed,” he said.

Ntuli said he sees the church as his second home. He received his first communion and confirmation there, and belongs to a church group that visits the sick, supports struggling families and prays with those who have lost loved ones.

He said the damage will mostly affect people who go to Sunday Mass and services during the week while the church looks for another venue.

The Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs told Scrolla.Africa that provincial and municipal disaster management centres have visited the church and other damaged buildings around Soweto.

These include Lancefield Hostel, Reutlwile Junior Secondary School, Vuwani Primary School, Jabulani Technical School and informal homes in Kliptown.

The department said it has arranged temporary accommodation for people displaced from the hostel, and City Parks has cut down trees and cleared debris. It said the human settlements department gave corrugated iron to repair the hostel.

It said the disaster centres are now providing blankets, plastic sheets for roofs and mattresses.

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• Fuel tax will drop by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 on diesel from 4 November to 1 December, then by R1 and R1.50 until 5 January 2027.

• The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says the relief will help, but the government must also stop wasting public money.

The tax on the price of petrol and diesel will be cut from 4 November, but the relief will not last.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the cut to the fuel levy in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.

From 4 November to 1 December 2026, the levy will fall by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 a litre on diesel.

After that, the cut will shrink to R1 a litre on petrol and R1.50 a litre on diesel until 5 January 2027.

For a 50-litre tank, that is a saving of R75 on petrol and R150 on diesel in the first month, and R50 and R75 after that.

The cut only lowers the tax part of the price, so other factors will still decide what you pay at the pump.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) said cheaper diesel could also ease the cost of transport and food. The R10-billion cost will be paid from money that was previously moved to the Central Energy Fund.

OUTA said the relief will help, but only for a short time. Its CEO Wayne Duvenage said people feel the pressure “every time they fill their tanks, buy groceries or pay for transport”.

OUTA wants the Treasury to look at the long-term tax on fuel and find ways to give lasting relief without cutting money for roads and other key infrastructure.

It also wants the government to show it is cutting waste. The Treasury reviewed R887-billion paid to provinces and municipalities for infrastructure between 2017/18 and 2023/24. It found that many projects were late, unfinished or did not deliver what they promised.

OUTA said this does not mean all the money was wasted. But it wants the Treasury to say which projects failed, who was responsible and what has been done about it.

The Treasury has also added R4.14-billion to the fight against gender-based violence. OUTA said this will mean little while forensic delays continue. The DNA Board told Parliament on 16 October 2026 that only 1.5% of DNA profiles met the 30-day target. Nearly 166,000 DNA samples are still waiting to be processed by police.

The Treasury also found that many municipalities spend too much on running costs and too little on looking after infrastructure. It has stopped paying the usual share of national funds to 69 municipalities that did not pay their creditors.

OUTA wants stronger action against municipalities that mismanage money, without leaving residents to suffer. With local government elections on 4 November, it said voters should ask how their municipalities spent public money.

By Nkhensani Mthombeni

• Takalani Tshivhase started his own baking company in the Sibasa area after employers refused to hire him over his disability.
  
• The determined baker now sells large buckets of fresh muffins and runs an organisation that helps other people find wheelchairs.

Takalani Tshivhase could not find a job. Employers did not trust him because of his speech impairment. So, the 33-year-old from the Sibasa area decided to create his own work.

Tshivhase lives with epilepsy, learning difficulties and a speech impairment. But he refused to let his health stop him from making a living.

He founded T Chibase Disability Resources, a company that bakes scones, biscuits and muffins. He learned to bake by taking classes and now runs the entire business on his own.

Before baking, he studied welding at the Grace Love Special School in Thohoyandou. When he finished, he struggled to find anyone willing to hire him.

“Growing up was not easy. People would always say nasty words to me because of how I speak,” Tshivhase said.

“But I had to learn to believe in myself, work hard and start something which will put food for me on the table,” he said.

He sells his baked goods in buckets ranging from two litres to 20 litres. Prices range from R210 to R650.

Running the business is not easy. High electricity and food prices put pressure on his profits. Tshivhase says he shops around to find the best prices for ingredients, especially sugar, which constantly goes up in price.

When he is not baking, he runs a non-profit group called Takalani Creation and Disability Vision. The group helps people get wheelchairs and skills training.

“I started the organisation because I saw how people living with disabilities are marginalised,” he said.

“I wanted to be someone who pushes them to become their best and for them to unleash their potential,” he said.

Tshivhase wants to open a full bakery one day. He hopes to hire people from poor homes so they can feed their families.