Pretoria: The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, will release a report into the Jagersfontein Tailings Storage Facility failure to the public in due course. Briefing the media on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that Cabinet has been briefed on the findings of the technical investigation into the failure which caused devastation to the town of Jagersfontein in the Free State.
According to South African Government News Agency, the Cabinet is pleased that criminal proceedings have commenced with the accused having appeared in the Jagersfontein Magistrate’s court on 11 September 2025. In September, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), along with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), confirmed that criminal proceedings were set to commence following the 2022 tragic collapse of the facility, which claimed the lives of two people.
Meanwhile, Cabinet has also received an update on developments in South Africa’s oil and gas sector. Minister Ntshavheni indicated that the country is advancing toward leveraging gas resources for power generation and fuel-related purposes. It is estimated that shale formations in the Karoo Basin hold as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of gas resources.
Ntshavheni elaborated on ongoing exploration and production efforts, including the Virginia Gas Project in the Free State, the Amersfoort and Volksrust Gas Project in Mpumalanga, and the Lephalale Coal Bed Methane Project in Limpopo. These projects are noted for their substantial natural gas and helium resources. The Shale Gas Regulations have been finalized by the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry, and Environment and are expected to be gazetted by the end of October 2025, providing a regulatory framework to address environmental and safety risks associated with fracking.
On the international front, Cabinet condemned the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has resulted in the deaths of an estimated 60 civilians, including 17 children, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 9 October 2025 in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in Sudan. Cabinet expressed concern over the thousands of civilians trapped by the siege of El Fasher, the epicenter of RSF attacks, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Cabinet welcomed the strengthening of cooperation in security, intelligence, and the formation of a joint economic committee between South Sudan and Sudan, viewing these efforts as critical for improving regional stability and security.