--- title: "No VAT, all slash; South Africans gatvol of GNU drama; and picking the next pope" description: "No VAT, all slash. Inside the IDT CEO’s R22m assets splurge. And how the next pope will be elected - all in the Weekend Wrap." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "WEEKEND WRAP" author: "Daily Maverick" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/dailymaverick/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-26-no-vat-all-slash-south-africans-gatvol-of-gnu-drama-and-picking-the-next-pope/" published: "2025-04-26T08:05:02" updated: "2025-04-26T08:07:19" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 1004 --- # No VAT, all slash; South Africans gatvol of GNU drama; and picking the next pope > No VAT, all slash. Inside the IDT CEO’s R22m assets splurge. And how the next pope will be elected - all in the Weekend Wrap. By Daily Maverick · Published 26 April 2025, 10:05 SAST · Updated 26 April 2025, 10:07 SAST ## Key points - In a weekend of financial gymnastics, the Treasury dodges a VAT hike while the IDT CEO flaunts a R22 million asset spree, leaving South Africans wondering if the next papal election might just be less scandalous than their own government's antics. - Treasury opts for spending cuts instead of a VAT hike, as financial resources dwindle amid years of mismanagement. - A midnight deal averts a VAT increase, potentially stabilizing the Government of National Unity as public frustration grows. - Investigations into the Independent Development Trust CEO's R22 million asset splurge prompt calls for lifestyle audits. - Tony Leon's new book reveals insights into the formation of the Government of National Unity, shedding light on political maneuvering. ## Content ## The Weekend Wrap No VAT, all slash. Inside the IDT CEO’s R22m assets splurge. And how the next pope will be elected. ## [‘Only game in town’: Treasury must now slash the fat with no hike for the VAT](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-24-only-game-in-town-treasury-must-now-slash-the-fat-with-no-hike-for-the-vat/) After years of squandering and providing a swelling army of cadres and their kin with government jobs and contracts — not to mention outright stealing and looting — there are simply no other trees to shake in the hope that money will magically fall from the canopy. By Ed Stoddard ## [VAT deal means GNU stays — just in time as new survey shows South Africans are gatvol of the drama](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-24-vat-deal-means-gnu-stays-just-in-time-as-new-survey-shows-south-africans-are-gatvol-of-the-drama/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main) A midnight deal that saw the National Treasury drop the VAT increase and reach a possible out-of-court settlement on the DA’s VAT case has probably saved the Government of National Unity. By Ferial Haffajee ## [Cash properties and new SUVs – inside Independent Development Trust CEO’s R22m assets splurge](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-23-cash-properties-and-new-suvs-inside-independent-development-trust-ceos-r22m-assets-splurge/) The Independent Development Trust’s newly constituted board has passed a resolution calling for lifestyle audits into the entity’s executive management. Daily Maverick unpacks several property transactions and vehicle purchases that might pique the investigators’ interest. By Pieter-Louis Myburgh for Scorpio ## The Weekend Wrap No VAT, all slash. Inside the IDT CEO’s R22m assets splurge. And how the next pope will be elected. ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2201614353-720x447.jpg) ## [‘Only game in town’: Treasury must now slash the fat with no hike for the VAT](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-24-only-game-in-town-treasury-must-now-slash-the-fat-with-no-hike-for-the-vat/) After years of squandering and providing a swelling army of cadres and their kin with government jobs and contracts — not to mention outright stealing and looting — there are simply no other trees to shake in the hope that money will magically fall from the canopy. By Ed Stoddard ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ferial-GNU-copy-720x437.jpg) ## [VAT deal means GNU stays — just in time as new survey shows South Africans are gatvol of the drama](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-24-vat-deal-means-gnu-stays-just-in-time-as-new-survey-shows-south-africans-are-gatvol-of-the-drama/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main) A midnight deal that saw the National Treasury drop the VAT increase and reach a possible out-of-court settlement on the DA’s VAT case has probably saved the Government of National Unity. By Ferial Haffajee ## [Cash properties and new SUVs – inside Independent Development Trust CEO’s R22m assets splurge](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-23-cash-properties-and-new-suvs-inside-independent-development-trust-ceos-r22m-assets-splurge/) The Independent Development Trust’s newly constituted board has passed a resolution calling for lifestyle audits into the entity’s executive management. Daily Maverick unpacks several property transactions and vehicle purchases that might pique the investigators’ interest. By Pieter-Louis Myburgh for Scorpio ![Tebogo Malaka](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/PLM-TebogoMalakaALT-720x312.jpg) ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ED_288975-720x433.jpg) ## [Eleven things we learnt about the GNU from Tony Leon’s new book, plus some gossip](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-24-eleven-things-we-learnt-about-the-gnu-from-tony-leons-new-book-plus-some-gossip/) Tony Leon was part of the DA’s negotiating team in the formation of the Government of National Unity — and his new book contains a juicy account of the behind-the-scenes action. By Rebecca Davis ## [VAT Increase Scrapped: Political Win or Economic Gamble?](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-11-watch-us-funding-cuts-threaten-global-medical-advancement-heres-why-it-matters-to-you/?dm_source=dm_block_list&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=maverick-citizen) Behind the press conferences and political posturing, one question remains: how will the government cover the R75-billion gap? Daily Maverick's Yeshiel Panchia explains. Reporting by: Yeshiel Panchia [YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQRR9NmvWPI) ## [Turning the page — how early book access can transform South Africa’s future](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-23-how-early-book-access-can-transform-south-africas-future/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=maverick-citizen) On World Book Day, South Africa’s early literacy crisis takes centre stage. As the country grapples with a deep literacy divide, grassroots initiatives like the Santa Shoebox Project and Book Dash are showing that change is possible, starting with a single storybook. With community involvement, mother-tongue stories and the gift of book ownership, they’re planting the seeds of lifelong learning in the hands of the youngest readers. By Takudzwa Pongweni ## [How early book access can transform South Africa’s future](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-23-how-early-book-access-can-transform-south-africas-future/) On World Book Day, South Africa’s early literacy crisis takes centre stage. As the country grapples with a deep literacy divide, grassroots initiatives like the Santa Shoebox Project and Book Dash are showing that change is possible, starting with a single storybook. By Takudzwa Pongweni ![NHI](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NHI-2.jpg) ## [On what grounds are the legal challenges against the contentious NHI Act being fought?](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-23-on-what-grounds-are-the-legal-challenges-against-the-contentious-nhi-act-being-fought/) The National Health Insurance Act has been subjected to five legal challenges. Who are the challengers and what are their grievances? By Tamsin Metelerkamp ## [Our brains are being fried — here’s why (and what to do about it)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-22-our-brains-are-being-fried-by-our-phones-what-to-do-about-it/) Digital dementia is a thing – and it’s getting worse – but there are ways to push back without throwing your phone in the ocean. By Dominique Olivier ## [Gift Leotlela’s 100m performance shows South Africa’s sprinters are ready to take on the world](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-25-gift-leotlelas-100m-performance-shows-south-africas-sprinters-are-ready-to-take-on-the-world/) ‘I’ve never had a South African senior title. This is my first.’ Gift Leotlela stunned a packed field, including Bayanda Walaza and Benjamin Richardson, at the Senior National Track & Field Championships on Thursday. By Keanan Hemmonsbey ## [Seven climate tipping points that could change life as we know it](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-22-SEVEN-climate-tipping-points-planet-earth/) This Earth Day, the warning signs are impossible to ignore. Evidence is mounting that several Earth systems are on the verge of breaching their tipping points. Scientists warn that triggering them poses grave threats for our planet’s life-support systems. There is still a window of opportunity to prevent this breach but it’s closing faster than we realise. By Our Burning Planet ## [How the next pope will be elected – what goes on at the conclave](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-24-how-the-next-pope-will-be-elected-what-goes-on-at-the-conclave/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekend_thing) Holding a conclave to elect a pope is a tradition that goes back centuries. By Mathew Schmalz ## [Mosquitoes are the world’s most dangerous animals, but here’s why they shouldn’t all disappear](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-22-what-would-happen-if-all-mosquitoes-disappeared/) Wouldn’t it be better for us all if mosquitoes disappeared. One answer is that it would save about 500,000 lives per year, but that’s not the whole story. By Shüné Oliver [![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023_04_24_CROSSWORDS-GIF-TEST3-1.gif)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/mini-crosswords/) ## [Daily Mini Crossword Quickie](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/mini-crosswords/) [Play here.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/mini-crosswords/) ## [Fynvleis and wildspastei, the heart of the Karoo in a pie](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-25-whats-cooking-today-fynvleis-wildspastei/) This was my recipe of the Year in 2022, a traditional game pie (wildspastei) made with fynvleis. Karoo tradition, first in a pot, then in a pie. My dear friend Sandra Antrobus taught me how to make fynvleis, and she was always very precise about how to cook things. Especially this. It passed muster. By Tony Jackman [Subscribe to First Thing](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/edit-my-profile/) to receive the Weekend Wrap in your inbox every Sunday morning. 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