--- title: "Dry school taps, the R1bn CEO and the soul of Leipoldt’s kitchen" description: "The Weekend Wrap highlights include devastating testimony on apartheid-era justice, the global legal scandal of a Pretoria-linked murder plot and the looming impact of AI on the white-collar workforce." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "THE WEEKEND WRAP" author: "Daily Maverick" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/dailymaverick/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-21-from-dry-school-taps-to-the-soul-of-leipoldts-kitchen-and-the-r1bn-ceo/" published: "2026-02-21T07:00:00" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 727 --- # Dry school taps, the R1bn CEO and the soul of Leipoldt’s kitchen > The Weekend Wrap highlights include devastating testimony on apartheid-era justice, the global legal scandal of a Pretoria-linked murder plot and the looming impact of AI on the white-collar workforce. By Daily Maverick · Published 21 February 2026, 09:00 SAST ## Key points - Explore the deep socioeconomic divides in South Africa, from the water crisis paralyzing Gauteng schools to the debate over who really profits from soaring gold prices. This week’s highlights include devastating testimony on apartheid-era justice, the global legal scandal of a Pretoria-linked murder plot, and the looming impact of AI on the white-collar workforce. - Gauteng schools face a stark divide as infrastructure failures leave poorer students with dry taps and raw sewage while affluent campuses remain unaffected - Economists question if South Africa's broader society will truly benefit from record-breaking gold prices despite a massive surge in government royalty tax - Lukhanyo Calata delivers a powerful testimony to the Khampepe Inquiry accusing the ANC of a secret deal to stall apartheid-era criminal prosecutions - A chilling murder-for-hire plot involving an animal tranquilizer links a South African man to a high-profile homicide case in Ohio ## Content ### A tale of two taps: How water access is dividing Gauteng’s schools ![As the taps run dry across Gauteng, the divide between the province’s poor and wealthy schools only deepens. (Photo: Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/fsZDWZvmhR73ysH2ulM5LDjM1pk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/ED_542345_598006_526061.jpg) *As the taps run dry across Gauteng, the divide between the province’s poor and wealthy schools only deepens. (Photo: Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)* ***By Takudzwa Pongweni.*** For Gauteng public school learners, a water outage means raw sewage risks and cancelled classes. More affluent schools, however, report not having water outages in years and turning the crisis into a teachable moment. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-19-a-tale-of-two-taps-how-water-access-is-dividing-gautengs-schools/) ### The sky-high gold price — who benefits? ![While the government stands to gain significantly through increased royalties on the back of the increases in the gold price, the economic benefits to the broader society remain questionable. (Photo: iStock)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/29FiLgkhBLYd--YIi0wivnZZ6hk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/iStock-2164477141_294023.jpg) *While the government stands to gain significantly through increased royalties on the back of the increases in the gold price, the economic benefits to the broader society remain questionable. (Photo: iStock)* ***By Stephen Grootes.*** The shimmering profits of gold-mining companies raise an interesting question: how much will our society benefit from this? Does it really do very much for our economy? [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-19-after-the-bell-the-skyhigh-gold-price-who-benefits/) ### In the name of our father — Lukhanyo Calata’s devastating testimony to Khampepe Inquiry ![Lukhanyo Calata has accused the ANC of betraying victims’ families by halting prosecutions due to a ‘secret agreement’ with apartheid-era leaders. (Photo: Supplied)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/rBHOfV3TJc4ApPewbuiKt5-1rVA=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/yates-calataInterview_400430.jpg) *Lukhanyo Calata has accused the ANC of betraying victims’ families by halting prosecutions due to a ‘secret agreement’ with apartheid-era leaders. (Photo: Supplied)* ***By Marianne Thamm.***South Africa is wedged between the past, the present and the future, which is why it is significant that in the week of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s well-received Sona, Lukhanyo Calata brought devastating unfinished business back into the spotlight. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-15-in-the-name-of-our-father-lukhanyo-calaalatas-devastating-testimony-to-khampepe/) ### An ‘extraordinary American pilgrimage’: Jesse Jackson’s final lap has been run ![Reverend Jesse Jackson gives a speech during his Democratic presidential run in New Orleans, 1984. (Photo: Joe McNally / Getty Images).](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/eZYW_9c0EUImpamEG-FmMUeDq9c=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/GettyImages-2262125897_805286_216487.jpg) *Reverend Jesse Jackson gives a speech during his Democratic presidential run in New Orleans, 1984. (Photo: Joe McNally / Getty Images).* ***By J Brooks Spector.***A giant of the American civil rights struggle and a political pioneer, the Reverend Jesse Jackson now belongs to history. We examine what he did – and what he meant to America. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-18-an-extraordinary-american-pilgrimage-jesse-jacksons-final-lap-has-been-run/) ### From Pretoria to Ohio — the dark journey of an animal tranquilliser murder plot ![Amanda Hovanec, Anita Green and Anthony Theodorou have pleaded guilty in a case involving a US Department of State employee killed with an animal tranquiliser there. Theodorou is from South Africa. (Photo: Supplied)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/zB-cB4o4XupGV8pr2TrAvqtpaeE=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/Caryn-FBI-Ohio-murder-MAIN_453619_655741.jpg) *Amanda Hovanec, Anita Green and Anthony Theodorou have pleaded guilty in a case involving a US Department of State employee killed with an animal tranquiliser there. Theodorou is from South Africa. (Photo: Supplied)* ***By Caryn Dolley.***Details unfold in a disturbing case linking a US woman’s murder of her estranged husband to her South African lover’s attempt to hire hitmen before acquiring a lethal tranquilliser. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-17-from-pretoria-to-ohio-the-dark-journey-of-an-animal-tranquilliser-murder-plot/) ### AI’s real threat: white-collar jobs vanish faster than policymakers notice ![Image: Unsplash](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/B6wE3IV255m988MqxEJTs4CX_PQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/hoi-an-and-da-nang-photographer-Voj5EHsWguc-unsplash_434633.jpg) *Image: Unsplash* ***By Wade Seale.***AI is coming for white-collar jobs, with one CEO predicting a 50% wipeout in five years. While the unthinkable looms, South Africa’s preoccupied leaders are failing to regulate and protect human employment. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-02-19-ais-real-threat-whitecollar-jobs-vanish-faster-than-policymakers-notice/) ### CEO remuneration in the age of inequality — what exactly are we rewarding? ![Naspers and Prosus’s CEO, Fabricio Bloisi, who in 2025 received a remuneration package worth more than R1bn. (Photo: Yuriko Nakao / Bloomberg via Getty Images)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/pj9tmcAdTKHF1eQVaZvn-EbwCIE=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/411725854_916482.jpg) *Naspers and Prosus’s CEO, Fabricio Bloisi, who in 2025 received a remuneration package worth more than R1bn. (Photo: Yuriko Nakao / Bloomberg via Getty Images)* ***By Salomé Teuteberg***. Amid growing inequality, the exorbitant pay of CEOs like Naspers’ Fabricio Bloisi necessitates a critical examination of the moral implications of corporate compensation structures. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-17-ceo-remuneration-in-the-age-of-inequality-what-exactly-are-we-rewarding/) ### Poetry in maths and accounting? How a young author is helping pupils master numbers ![Botshelo Mthomboti, an award winning author and accountant, makes mathematics look fun by converting it into poetry. (Photo: Supplied / Botshelo Mthomboti.)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/bi06sPYTJwqXoZ7cnQsTK2iHcLY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/PHOTO-2025-10-07-14-53-39_400960_311048.jpg) *Botshelo Mthomboti, an award winning author and accountant, makes mathematics look fun by converting it into poetry. (Photo: Supplied / Botshelo Mthomboti.)* ***By Siyabonga Goni***. An accountant has found creative ways to reshape how pupils experience these subjects by making numbers fun and accessible. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-17-young-author-uses-poetry-to-help-pupils-master-maths-and-accounting/) ### Leonie Joubert – An ‘accidental writer ’ taking the long way around ![Roaming journalist Leonie Jourbert and her travelling companion, a cat named Mouse. (Photo: Leonie Joubert)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/GfDjyhRqVkEDR13L9no69MpailM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/Don-LeonieJoubert-07_715222_271865.jpg) *Roaming journalist Leonie Jourbert and her travelling companion, a cat named Mouse. (Photo: Leonie Joubert)* ***By Don Pinnock.***Climate journalist Leonie Joubert and the lonely work of creating agency among communities struggling to make sense of the effects of climate change. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-15-leonie-joubert-an-accidental-writer-taking-the-long-way-around/) ### Royal Countess Zingara mourns a tumultuous world while celebrating the heights of human potential ![Contortionist Lunga Buthelezi performs at the Royal Countess Zingara. (Photo: Daniel Rutland Manners)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/IXU-pWK8Lh33f4URfp3bjzvDE1Y=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/ContortionistLungaButheleziperformingattheRoyalCountessZingara_DanielRutlandManners_4807181_265662.jpg) *Contortionist Lunga Buthelezi performs at the Royal Countess Zingara. (Photo: Daniel Rutland Manners)* ***By Keith Bain.***Ringside seats at the Royal Countess Zingara’s latest reverie, La Dolce Royal, put you close enough to the action to make you feel as though you’re in the show. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-18-royal-countess-zingara-mourns-a-tumultuouous-world-while-celebrating-the-heights/) ### Take a walk with me down Leipoldt Lane ![(Photo: Anju Ravindranath from Unsplash)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/gbY_PyMtir5IRFVuPS9JYYnT4TU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2988/anju-ravindranath-Nihdo084Yos-unsplash_898525_523362.jpg) *(Photo: Anju Ravindranath from Unsplash)* ***By Tony Jackman.***Cook the way C Louis Leipoldt did. Don’t measure everything with meticulous pedantry. Don’t allow the precise instructions of a cookbook author to tie your hands behind your back. Just take a deep breath, pick up a wooden spoon, and cook. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-13-take-a-walk-with-me-down-leipoldt-lane/?)